Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 14

Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)

Devanagari script

एकपङ्क्त्युपविष्टानां विषमं भोजयन्ति ये विड्भोजनं राक्षसेन्द्र नरकं ते व्रजन्ति च

Transliteration

ekapaṅktyupaviṣṭānāṃ viṣamaṃ bhojayanti ye viḍbhojanaṃ rākṣasendra narakaṃ te vrajanti ca

Translation

ਹੇ ਰਾਖਸ਼ਸੇਂਦ੍ਰ! ਜੋ ਇੱਕੋ ਪੰਗਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਬੈਠਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਅਸਮਾਨ ਤਰੀਕੇ ਨਾਲ ਭੋਜਨ ਦਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ, ਉਹ ‘ਵਿਡਭੋਜਨ’ ਨਾਮਕ ਨਰਕ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ।

Word by Word

• eka-paṅkty-upaviṣṭānām: of those seated in one row
• eka-paṅkty-upaviṣṭānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + paṅkti (प्रातिपदिक) + upaviṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—'एकपङ्क्त्याम् उपविष्ट' (in one row seated)

• viṣamam: unequal (food/serving)
• viṣamam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (भोजनम् implied)

• bhojayanti: feed/serve
• bhojayanti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (धातु; णिच् causative)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative: make eat/feed)

• ye: those who
• ye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• viṭ-bhojanam: feces as food
• viṭ-bhojanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṭ (प्रातिपदिक) + bhojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (विटः भोजनम्)

• rākṣasa-indra: O lord of the Rakṣasas
• rākṣasa-indra: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (राक्षसानाम् इन्द्रः)

• narakam: hell
• narakam: Gati/Karma (गति/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• vrajanti: go
• vrajanti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vraj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात

Speakers

• Not specified in input; vocative ‘rākṣasendra’ indicates the addressee is a Rākṣasa ruler (likely in a dialogue setting)

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Karma-phala
• Naraka (hells)
• Social ethics
• Anna-dharma

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Fairness in giving is part of dharma: when a community meal is undertaken, discrimination and partiality in serving are treated as a serious moral fault, because it humiliates and harms others at the most basic level of sustenance.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

As with many Purāṇas, the text includes dharma-śikṣā (ethical instruction) alongside the pancalakṣaṇa topics. This passage is best categorized as karmic/dharmic instruction rather than cosmology or genealogy.

What is the symbolic significance?

The hell-name ‘Viḍbhojana’ (excrement-eating) is a reversal-symbol: one who degrades others at a sacred meal is themselves assigned the most degrading ‘meal,’ dramatizing the inversion of dignity.